A clean view in one swipe provides a feeling of security in foul weather.

Keeping a clean windshield is important for several reasons. Each contributes to safe driving in the Madison WI area. Aquapel glass treatments are reliable, easy to apply and long-lasting.

Obviously, clean windows make travel more pleasant. Nobody likes driving or riding around in a haze – especially one caused by a dirty windshield. Clean windows are safer, especially in bad weather. When a typical Wisconsin storm blows in a dirty windshield reduces vision. And, your windshield wipers will have to work harder to keep the field of view clean.

Windshield maintenance begins with good wiper blades and clean glass. Professionals recommend cleaning wiper blades regularly – and alcohol wipe works well. And they note that bugs should be removed as soon as possible, especially in hot weather. Insects contain resins and proteins that make a mess and hinder wiper performance. Continue reading →

It used to be called “trading paint.” Not funny when it happens to your car.

Working on cars and taking them to an auto body shop have always been jobs left to men. Not any more! In Madison WI, and around the country, more and more women are making decisions for themselves. That includes caring for their personal vehicles.

When it comes to taking care of a car or truck the language of the repair or body shop is as foreign as can be. Technicians have their own shorthand to go with a long list of technical terms. Understanding what’s going on – and what will go on when you agree to a repair – provides more than peace of mind. It provides guidance and security so you know you’re getting the job done right. Continue reading →

A clean repair makes this bumper look almost showroom new at far less than the cost of installing a new one.

When a plastic bumper gets scuffed, dented or cracked it looks bad. Repairing dings and dents in plastic auto body parts is a daily occurrence. Our skilled Madison WI auto body shop technicians have developed techniques making repairs cost-efficient for cars, trucks and SUVs.

The days of buffing out scratches and pounding out dents when the way of white walled tires. Do-it-yourself plastic repairs may look easy but they are not. Fixing a damaged plastic auto body part correctly involves:

• Grinding
• Sanding
• Sculpting
• Painting

Continue reading →

Detailing puts the new car shine back into your ride.

Even if you’ve religiously cleaned your car or truck all winter, professional auto detailing is a sound investment this spring. Tapping the tools and training of a fully-equipped Madison WI auto body shop will renew your vehicle’s showroom shine. The physical condition of your ride plays a role in your driving enjoyment. That’s just one reason to seek professional workmanship before the blazing hot days of summer.

To avoid confusion, understand that auto detailing is a lot more than a car wash and wax. These elements play just a small part in the overall process. Continue reading →

Keeping your ride clean in winter is easier said than done, but it’s the best way to reduce the threat of vehicle paint damage.

Snow storms, extreme cold and ice all increase the likelihood of vehicle paint damage in Madison WI. While there are steps you can take to guard against damage, and DIY fixes, a trip to an auto body shop is the high-quality solution.

Snow and ice on their own represent threats to you ride’s paint, but the biggest threat comes from attempts to remove them – salt and corrosives on the road and the tools you use to clean off your car.

In southern Wisconsin you cannot avoid road salt, sand and grit in winter months. That is why keeping your vehicle clean is so important. Professional body shop technicians have suggestions for protecting paint and clean coat while tackling snow and ice. Continue reading →

Restore foggy-looking headlights to provide safe, even nighttime lighting

Clean headlights provide visibility for you and others while cloudy headlights increase the risks of driving at night. Clear vision is critical to vehicle safety, therefore when illumination lessons headlight restoration is important. The average vehicle on the roads around Madison WI is about 10 years old. The older a vehicle gets the more likely hazy headlights are a problem. Discolored headlight lenses are not just a problem in lower-priced vehicles, it happens to luxury rides, too.

The Causes Of Cloudy Headlights

Age and the environment take a toll on headlights, especially the polycarbonate protective lenses. They get cloudy, yellow and hazy-looking. There’s no one element that causes the discoloring, but these all contribute to the problem: Continue reading →

‘Tis the season that puts your vehicles at a heightened risk for mishaps that send you to a repair shop.

From a fender-bender to a serious crash, you have choices to make when scheduling your car repair. The cost of a visit to a Madison WI area auto body shop is one of them. Consider how much the repairs will add to the useful life of your vehicle before going with “it isn’t worth fixing.” Does the cost of repairs extend the life of your car beyond the time it would take to make up the same costs in car payments? Measure the cost in terms of value to you and your family, not just dollars. Continue reading →

Enemy No. 1 for your vehicle’s finish – road salt.

Attention to basic winter car care suggestions prolongs the life of your vehicle and keeps it looking sharp. Protect your car’s exterior before Madison WI winter sets in and avoid a trip to the auto body shop next spring.

Protecting a vehicle’s finish is the No. 1 priority, but don’t neglect wheels, windows and headlights. Snow, ice and corrosives take a toll. Scraping ice and brushing snow are rough on a car’s paint.

Protect Auto Body Paint

There is nothing harder on your car’s paint than road salt. There’s little you can do to keep it off your ride – short of storing it for the winter! A combination of good paint to begin with plus wax or a sealant is the first step. Attention to routine maintenance makes a big difference. Continue reading →

A small puncture opens up your seats to serious damage. A professional can make this look like new.

The longer you own your vehicle the more likely you will need auto upholstery repair. You get in, you get out over and over. Upholstery – leather and fabric – wears with every movement. And, the extremes in Madison WI area weather don’t help.

There are do-it-yourself options as band aide fixes. When you want a really custom, professional job go to an auto body shop. Continue reading →

One faster than expected stop or an unexpected skid can leave you in need of auto body repair services thanks to Wisconsin’s winter driving challenge.

Short of parking your vehicles for months, there’s nothing you can do to avoid winter driving in Madison. But there are precautions you can take on Wisconsin’s snow- and ice-covered roads to help keep you away from auto body repair shops.

Rapidly changing road conditions can catch even experienced drivers by surprise. The best way to avoid unpleasant surprises is to leave the house prepared. Steps to keep you aware of what’s happening in the area include:

• Monitor weather reports – local radio and TV stations provide good updates and forecasts and with modern Internet connections you can get almost instant, real-time updates on what’s happening and what’s about to happen.
• Keep tabs on traffic – local sources and the State Department of Transportation provide road condition reports regularly. Here are two resources:
  • Wisconsin State Patrol map
  • Madison Road Conditions

Continue reading →

Preseason prep saves your vehicle’s surfaces before these bad boys deposit a load of corrosives on the roadway.

A complete car detailing program is an ideal basis for winter vehicle preparation. A professional auto body shop serving the Madison WI area is the place to start as you get your ride ready for what Wisconsin’s wintertime roads throw your way.

Car Detailing Begins With a Clean Vehicle

Even though you may barely see its surface in the midst of winter, your car requires regular washing and waxing all year around. A good, professional car detailing treatment before the corrosives hit the streets is an excellent place to start. Continue reading →

Restore a classic, repair your ride or make an image change – a quality, professional paint job makes all the difference.

Car painting isn’t as easy as the professionals in an auto body paint shop make it look. To begin, there are different levels of paint used to achieve the right finish on your Madison WI area vehicles. Getting the final finish just right usually involves a combination of paint – for proper bonding to metal and to achieve a classic shine. The science of paint selection becomes art when a professional painter begins the application process.

There are five basic categories for finishes used in an auto body paint shop, including: Continue reading →

Not just any hammer will do if you want truly professional results when it comes to removing dings and dents from your vehicles. It takes specialty tools found in a professional body shop.

A technician completing complex repairs, especially on your vehicle, needs training, confidence and the right body shop tools. Removing dents, refinishing and repainting delicate surfaces – all the elements of collision repair – takes skill. And it takes a selection of specialized, professional quality tools. Two things make the difference between a straightforward, standard job and a real headache:

Having the proper tools for the job and the experience to use them correctly.

An amateur mechanic can make many repairs with the tools at their disposal – either basic shop tools they own or specialty tools they borrow or rent. Besides years of experience and training, the professional body shop technician has the right body shop tools at hand every day. A good auto body shop is equipped with specialized hand tools, power tools and automated equipment to make quick, efficient work of most challenges. Professional collision repair technicians have invested thousands of dollars to stock their tool boxes. Continue reading →

There are many, many parts required to put your ride back together after a collision. Choosing the right ones for the job requires sorting the options, including OEM auto parts vs. Aftermarket pieces.

When your vehicle needs major repairs or just a couple of new parts there’s a choice between OEM auto parts – from the manufacturer – and parts made by a third party that are supposed to do the job. Collision repair is serious business with many sources of information on what’s best for you and your vehicles. Advice will come from all corners of Madison WI, from friends, coworkers auto dealers, insurance companies and accredited auto body shop professionals.

Original equipment manufacturer parts (OEM), aftermarket parts (from a third party parts maker) or recycled parts are all viable options one time or another. Does it really matter which you choose? Your insurance company may try to dictate the parts you use – usually based on the cost of the part, not necessarily the quality. Continue reading →

Faded and oxidized paint is part of the aging process and results in an auto paint repair from a professional auto body shop.

Winter is rough on vehicle paint and once the salt and dirt is cleaned away the need for auto paint repair is often obvious. But Madison WI winters are not the only hard times for your ride. The baking sun with its damaging UV rays can be just as damaging. A trip to a professional auto body shop is the answer for both protection and cure.

Corrosive elements meant to melt ice and make driving safer are not friendly to a vehicle’s finish. And winter road conditions regularly lead to dings, dents and major collision-related damage. Anything from a scratch to rust and a sizeable dent require auto paint repair to restore the vehicle to prime condition.

Summer Sun Leads to Auto Paint Repair

Even with today’s high-tech paint and clear coat finishes, repeated exposure to sunlight will result in fading. In older cars and trucks it’s even a bigger concern. Faded paint detracts not only from the looks of a car or truck it significantly reduces its monetary value. Continue reading →

Cleanup after a harsh winter calls for an auto interior restoration effort best left to professionals at an auto body shop.

Winter is hard on vehicles inside and out. When you plan your annual spring tune-up, include an auto interior restoration to revitalize your ride. In Madison WI everyone is aware of the grime, road salt and other corrosives sticking to every inch of your vehicle’s exterior. Now’s the time to call upon a professional auto body shop to give the interior a solid spring cleaning, too.

A vehicle’s interior is subjected to the same harsh elements as the exterior. Anything that goes on the roads, sidewalks or parking lots gets tracked into the vehicle – and ground into carpets, upholstery and mats. If it sticks to you it winds up in your vehicle. Unlike the exterior, a lot less attention is a paid to protecting the inside. Lack of routine interior protection results in the need for auto interior restoration. Continue reading →

Like throwing acid on your car, the heavy doses of road salt used in a typical Wisconsin winter will begin corroding even the smallest crack in the paint, ding or dent.

When the sludge and grime of winter is washed off the need for auto body repairs often shows through. The slightest ding, dent or scratch is an open wound inviting serious rust damage. Professional care from trained technicians heads off serious corrosion and fresh auto body painting restores the surface. After a typical Madison WI winter, small dents and paint scratches are often overlooked. Attention to these details now saves additional aggravation and cost down the road.

Consider Auto Body Repairs Now

“It’s just a little scratch.” That attitude puts your vehicle at risk. Consider these reasons to act now: Continue reading →

With all the different materials and different applications of familiar materials inside new cars, keeping them looking sharp is a challenge even for vehicle detailing pros.

To protect your vehicle’s showroom luster, inside and out, professional vehicle cleaning, including interior car detailing is a wise investment. Especially with the multiple, new materials appearing in today’s modern vehicles. Not only are there new materials, but standard materials are being used in different ways. Applying old interior car detailing techniques to polish and clean new materials leaves the door wide open to costly mistakes.

An old scrub brush isn’t enough anymore – don’t take anything for granted. Proper interior car detailing requires technical knowledge, skill, appropriate tools, the right chemical cleaners and time. As part of a professional vehicle cleaning, appropriate interior car detailing takes an average of six hours. And, there are differing levels of “clean.” Continue reading →

Driving around with a fogged headlight lens is risky business. A simple three-step process can brighten your outlook on everything around you.

Foggy headlights have become a fact of life since manufacturers switched from glass to polycarbonate and plastic. It can happen to anybody, and headlight restoration can make things right.

The cloudy appearance is caused by oxidation. Oxidized headlights aren’t necessarily the result of poor maintenance. UV light, road debris and atmospheric chemicals all contribute to the problem. The resulting cloudiness decreases nighttime visibility and should therefore be repaired by a trained technician at an auto body shop.

Polycarbonate headlights are tougher than the older glass headlights. Glass headlights broke under impact and have been replaced as a safety move. With the new lenses, if they do break, they don’t explode into hundreds of pieces. Continue reading →

Today’s technology makes repairing cracked plastic bumpers a fast, easy and inexpensive alternative to replacing the whole thing.

Under the winter grime from Madison WI roads you often find dings, dents and cracks, including blemishes that require a plastic bumper crack repair. Not every auto body shop can provide the expertise it takes to make these repairs and provide a seamless restoration of your vehicle’s finish.

Nearly every cracked plastic bumper can be repaired, and usually for less than half the cost of a new bumper. While almost every cracked bumper can be repaired, it isn’t always practical. A plastic bumper crack repair job requires a special plastic welding technique plus the application of structural adhesives. During the process, body paint is blended to match the original color. The finished job provides a seamless, invisible repair. Continue reading →

With professional care, your precision painted alloy wheels can be returned to prime condition after a cast of curb rash.

Just like a car’s finish, your prized alloy wheels take a beating in the Madison WI winter of salt and corrosion. An auto body shop is the place to get your ride back in shape – including putting the sparkle back in your wheels.

The sleek lines of today’s automotive designs are made to show off accessories. Whether it’s a hard-working pickup or the family SUV, vehicles look and perform better with precision wheels. These wheels may be standard issue or custom aftermarket. They may be polished or painted. Surveys show that more than 70% of the vehicles on the road today have painted alloy wheels. Multiply by four and it’s obvious there’s a lot of potential for wheel damage. And, the potholes and corrosives on Wisconsin highways are a real threat. Continue reading →

Road salt works on ice and a vehicle’s finish. Car detailing professionals fight back.

Road salt and chemical deicers subtly attack a vehicle’s finish and the resulting damage calls for the special talents of car detailing professionals for deep cleaning, polishing and potentially painting repair. Even during a relatively mild winter, the roads in Madison WI are covered in salt and so are the vehicles that travel them.

Road salt and the alternative chemicals used to treat ice or pretreat ahead of a storm adhere to the road surface and continue to work slowly to provide better traction. They work slowly on the surface of your car, too. The chemicals linger and work into the car’s finish. Everything and anything moving beyond a crawl on the road is susceptible to the spray. Continue reading →